othellovonryan | (no subject)

(no subject)

Noise.

It starts as just irritation. A metaphorical crawling under your skin. Things are too noisy, too bright, there is too much happening all the time and you can't take it all in-

Then silence it, make it yours, make it you, take control and destroy what will not submit

It sounds so inviting, a freedom from the noise, but its wrong, its wrong, its wrong and the noise is getting louder, mechanical and foreboding as it sees you, it knows you are there, and it wants to make you apart of it.

Anatawa hitorijanai

For a moment, there is quiet.

You breathe.

And fall through water.

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[The room, like many rooms before, appears to be converted from some abandoned work area in the sewers. Though there is no fusion this time. The room seems to be simpler, instead of an amalgamation, its more like a moment in time.]

[Where there had been signs of overt tech, or a stupid amount of teenager vibe, this room is almost devoid of any sort of tech. There are crates of various supplies, mostly emergency supply types, like rations, and space blankets, things kept on hand and easily accessed.]

[There is an armchair, worn with age, and several bean bags. There are a scattering of toys, most in some state of disrepair. Action figures missing limbs, balls with patched up holes. Cardboard covered in paint or crayon drawings. Nothing is new.]

[There are only two signs of tech; the lights that were already part of the work area.]

[And a projector. The cover is off its back, with wires held together with those plastic ties from bread bags, and paperclips.]

[There Donnie is sitting beside the projector, looking no older than seven, wearing an oversized hoody, and glasses taped to his head.]

[His brothers, around the same age as Donnie, and Splinter are also there, watching a Lou Jitsu movie with excited babbling, Splinter explaining bits of trivia of the movie, Leo listening with rapt attention as Mikey and Raph try to mimick something on screen.]

[The moment is warmth and purpose as the young Donnie watches his family more than the movie, looking nothing less than perfectly content and proud.]

[A room that isn't representing an aspect of personality...but seemingly just a moment in time.]

... the heart of you, huh.

[she whispers it, unwilling to intrude.]

[He nods, walking into the memory. No one else seems aware of her, continuing like nothing had happened.]

[He puts a hand on the projector.] First thing I fixed.

[The first time he understood an intrinsic part of himself. The first time he fully knew the good he could do for his family.]

Something to be proud of for sure.

[a pause.]

His stance is too wide to hit anyone successfully. They're covering it with the angle they're shooting the movie from, but it's glaringly obvious at a glance. What is this?

[yes, she's been briefly distracted the movie.]

Kung Fu movie. A recorded play.

Villain needs to stand dynamically. Most actors can't do impressive real moves. Dad can. They need to fake harder to keep quality.

Edited 2023-02-23 16:40 (UTC)

[there's no grasp of what he means till he says 'recorded play' and then there's a visible sense of 'wow. now there's a concept.' like if scrying wells could permanently store what they'd displayed/seen. a bit horrifying to contemplate if she thinks about it too long, but what isn't, these days ...]

Huh. So this was from before he was a ... mouse? And you all get to see it.

[a beat.]

My dad used to share some of his past with me like that, but I only got to watch it happening in my dreams, you know?

Rat. Same day we were made.

[Because they were definitely a made thing.]

Technology difference. Didn't know it was dad until last year. Took a while to open up.

[He looks at Splinter and smiles fondly.] I could help them after today.

Huh.

[she gives him a sad, if fond, smile.] Is that right?

... but yeah. Sometimes ... sometimes dads don't tell you what's on their mind till it's too late. [especially for heroes, she doesn't add aloud. if she hadn't learned better, she might've even thought, wrongly, that parental death was a given. but she knows better - it's just the case for most of them. points for Below - and her emotions twist internally at the thought; she isn't an exception to prove the rule, not on this one - at least most of those on her side only lost their parents after killing them at their own hands.] You get to consider yourself a lucky one that too late didn't come too soon for him.

[He snorts.] Got close a lot. Dad took on a lot on himself. To protect us. To run from it. A lot of reasons.

He opened up when it counted most. He messed up a lot, but never when it counted most.

[He looks at Cat.] Dad is complicated. Family is complicated. But worth it.

... yeah. That it is.

[she looks at the image.]

I still want to go back and cut that chain tying the other part of you to his Big Idea, or whatever that was, now that I - took care of the other problem. Think we can do that, before this all runs its course?

[He nods in agreement.] The bunker. Better to stop that.

You should read your dossier too.

[she nods, ready to move on and go do just that - then gets brought up short.]

... dossier?

[a beat.]

You already have enough on me to put me in a dossier? Donnie -

[she stops herself, clears her throat.] - actually, no, mostly I'm ... impressed. Especially that you're willing to show it to me, considering.

I don't want people to be confused what I think of them. I'd look.

[He gestures to the back of the room and a blue doorway and an orange doorway appear.]

Re: The Core

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[ The core. The one thing so important that it got sealed off when that dumb snake got into Donnie's head.

There's some new perspective to it, between personally being so much bigger now that he could... probably scoop this entire family up and still have an arm to spare, they're so tiny, and getting the Donnie angle.

But Raph remembers this one, too.

It was the most Pops had said all at once in days. It was the happiest Leo had looked in days, listening to him. The easiest it had been to tire Mikey out before bedtime. The most fun way Raph had gotten to burn off extra energy, shake out some of those feelings that were too big for him.

Donnie was so proud. It was the proudest Donnie had looked in... maybe ever.

Raph thinks it makes sense that this is what's in here. He didn't know what he was expecting, but this slots right in.

He hangs back a little bit. Crosses his arms, watches things play out for a few seconds. Soaks in all the warm fuzzy feelings from something that feels forever ago after all they've been through. ]

Pff. 'Totally gonna lose it,' he says. As if. I got this.

[Everyone in the family doesn't seem to notice his presence. There is no fully discontent moment like running through him and there is definitely movements to go around him, but that is the extent that most will give him.]

[Save, of course, Donnie himself.]

[Who does look over when Raph enters the room and he smiles brightly, coming over.]

[Though he hears that and maybe this smile is just a little devious as he raises his arms in a very much 'pick me up and hug me' motion.]

[ w.......... he........

smol

HE IS SMOL HE IS ACKNOWLEDGING RAPH DIRECTLY THIS IS NOT JUST A MEMORY VIBE HE WANTS TO BE PICKED UP ]

[ RIP Raph's health bar, which just went from full to empty, that's a one-hit K.O. from The Core. Raph's great weakness.

So yeah he doesn't got this and he is totally losing it. It's lost. There he go.

DRAMATICALLY DROPS TO HIS KNEES AND SCOOPS UP THE TINY DONNIE ]

Ohmigosh, look at you!!!!!

[He laughs, looking quite pleased at getting a direct hit on his big brother.]

[Also a hug]

[Allows him to be scooped up and hugs back and gives a friendly chirp.]

[ He's so so tiny. Selfishness Donnie was tiny but this is like INSANELY TINY... the drunk girl with puppies energy is so real right now.

His little chirp. Raph's heart has in fact crumbled into itty bitty pieces. ]

I live here now.

[ Okay not really. ]

[There is another laugh and he looks quite proud of himself.]

Called it.

[He rests against him with a sigh.]

Thank you.

[ Pf. Little snot. ]

You don't gotta thank me. [ It's like thanking him for being a turtle. ] This is practically on the big brother business card.

[He nods in agreement. That is true, of course Raph would protect him. A chirp. Safe.]

For trusting. [Because he knows the real challenge.]

[ Raph has a second to spare to be in his feelings about Donnie knowing and believing that all the way down. At every level. Keeping that one for the rainy day emotions fund. ]

Yeah. Glad that one worked out, huh? [ Shoutout to Cat, doing the heavy lifting. ] I'm gonna have to thank her later.

[That he does. Nothing can shake the assurance that Raph is safety.]

[He hums and nods his head.] Trust is important. One person would risk being overwhelmed.

[ 'One person would risk being overwhelmed' ain't that the truth. ]

Yeah. It's better this way. [ And also better when he gets to cuddle a tiny baby brother but that's a separate betterness. ] The relations guy said you'd know if there's anything else we gotta clean up?

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